Treme costumes well suited for display at the CAM

The exhibition opens to the public Saturday and remains on display through Nov. 3

Wilmington native and costume designer Alonzo Wilson inspects the costume of a Mardi Gras Indian during shooting for HBO series "Treme." Photo by Paul Schiraldi, courtesy of HBO

By Justin LacyStarNews Correspondent

Published: Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 12:32 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 at 12:22 a.m.

In the pilot episode of the HBO series "Treme," Albert Lambreaux (Clarke Peters) steps out onto his street in Treme, one of the oldest neighborhoods in New Orleans, wearing an elaborate suit of bright yellow, orange and red feathers, shaking a tambourine and chanting, "I big chief with fire."

Facts

What: "Well Suited: The Costumes of Alonzo Wilson for HBO's ‘Treme'"When: Exhibition opens to the public May 18 and remains on display through Nov. 3. Opening reception for museum members is 6-9 p.m. May 17. Public walk-through with Wilson is 2 p.m. May 18 ($10, $5 for students, free for members)Where: Cameron Art Museum, 3201 S. 17th St., WilmingtonAdmission: $8; $5 for seniors, military and students; $3 for children age 2-12; free for museum membersDetails: 395-5999 or www.CameronArtMuseum.com. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday, and until 9 p.m. Thursdays.

He is the chief of the Guardians of the Flame, a Mardi Gras Indian tribe, and although it is only three months after Hurricane Katrina destroyed his home, he has assembled this flashy display of needle-and-thread-work to practice for the ceremonial walk held during Mardi Gras.

"Well Suited: The Costumes of Alonzo Wilson for HBO's ‘Treme,'" features the Mardi Gras Indian suit Wilmington native Alonzo Wilson designed for the first episode of "Treme," as well as 13 other suits Wilson created during the show's first three seasons. Originally organized by the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans, the exhibition opens at the Cameron Art Museum with a members-only reception 6-8 p.m. Friday featuring a performance from Grammy-Award-winning New Orleans trumpeter Leon "Kid Chocolate" Brown. The exhibition opens to the public Saturday -- there's a public walk-through with Wilson at 2 p.m. -- and remains on display through Nov. 3.

When Wilson first flew into New Orleans to begin working on the pilot episode of "Treme," he knew nothing about the Mardi Gras Indians, tribes of African-American carnival revelers who, for Mardi Gras, dress in 100-pound suits loosely based on Native American ceremonial apparel.

"First I tried the Internet," Wilson said. "You can't find anything. Even things I know now about the Mardi Gras Indians I'll never tell anyone, because it is sort of a secret cultural society in a way. There was not enough information. The only way to get it was to immerse yourself with someone, so we got the son of the Mardi Gras Indian Chief from the Guardians of the Flame."

At first, the chief's son was reluctant to share his family's traditions.

"I won him over, apparently," Wilson said. "He told me everything and he agreed to help construct it based on my designs. He thought I was a worthy outsider, but I'm pretty charming. I can talk my way into anything, probably."

Because of the intricate bead work and extravagant decor, most Mardi Gras Indian suits are costly and can take more than six months for an entire family to make.

"When I saw what they do," Wilson said, "I'm thinking, ‘How are we – we can't do that. I have like six weeks, that's impossible.' And I thought, ‘But we can't fake it.' I mean we could. We could have figured out some way to fake it, but in the long run, who would be happy with that?"

Wilson designed the "fire suit" and constructed it with the help of the chief's son's family. It turned out to be the most expensive costume in HBO's history at the time, and it doesn't even compare to the intricacy of the other 13 suits on display at the CAM. Wilson was able to put in the months of labor for the rest of them, completing tedious bead mosaics portraying images themed around the story arc of each season.

In season one, Treme residents attempt to put their lives back together after the devastation of Katrina. Later in the season, a chief struts an elegant purple and red suit with S-shaped hurricane contraflows beaded on each wing and a circle surrounding the city's death toll beaded on the chest piece. When the chief's arms are extended, the suit reads "S.O.S." Save our souls.

The Costume Designers Guild has twice nominated Wilson for his work on "Treme." That's pretty high recognition for a designer who wanted to be a writer. Back when he was living in Wilmington, costume design was the furthest thing from Wilson's mind.

"All of it was a mistake," Wilson said. "I am the reluctant artist, I'll tell you that."

Wilson wanted to go into career in journalism, but things changed when he auditioned for a play at the University of North Carolina Wilmington on a whim. Despite not even attending UNCW, he wound up getting a job working as a stage manager in UNCW's theater department. That led to a job as a driver/production assistant for New-York-based costume designer Clifford Capone at the old DEG Studios in Wilmington. Capone thought Wilson would make a good costume designer, so he hired a new driver and taught Wilson the ropes. That led to Wilson working on his first production, "Maximum Overdrive."

Wilson has now worked on a long list of features and TV shows, including "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," "Dawson's Creek" and "The Wire," the David Simon HBO series that lead to his involvement with "Treme." Now Wilson is stepping away from his long, accidental career in costume-design to focus on writing.

Normally, a costume designer is doing his or her job if the costume is believable – if it suits the character in a way that doesn't distract the viewer from the story. But in a museum setting, Wilson's extravagant work demands all of the attention. It's a new dynamic for the artist, but it's not a bad way to end a career, especially so close to where it all began.

"When (CAM Director) Anne Brennan flew in from Wilmington and I met her at the Ogden, she said she wanted to bring this to Wilmington," Wilson said. "And I was like, no pun intended, ‘This is hitting home here. It's going back to where I started.' Then it became really emotional. Because my mom had a stroke four years ago, so she would never be able to travel to New Orleans, so she couldn't see it. My dad's blind now, so he'll never see it. But they're alive, and they're alive for the idea that I have something in a museum, and that it actually went from one and now it's at home. So this it actually becomes emotional."

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